Canon’s PowerShot G11, the long-awaited and much desired replacement to the no-longer available G10, appears to have politely taken a step back and removed itself from the megapixel wars. Down to 10 megapixels now, versus the 14.7 of its immediate predecessor, the G11 is a self-proclaimed effort on Canon’s behalf to appease the G series fans and to get back to the series’ roots. So, they’ve traded more pixels for better. Good for them, I say. There’s a lot of market pressure these days (especially from Sony, who hand out megapixels like a digital Santa in a beneficent mood), and I’ve never quite seen a new model go backwards in the megapixel count like this. Good show.

Also back is the tilt-swivel LCD of yesteryear, a feature which I’ve weighed in repeatedly in favor of. Admittedly, 99% of the time I never use it. But, it’s nice to know it’s there for when I do need it. The E-P1 would’ve benefited from one, for example.

So, cease any mumblings about people not listening, ye disheartened fans, the G11 seems to be a pretty solid show of faith and effort to accommodate the actual market and not the imaginary one that drives marketing departments sometimes. It is, in short, a camera for photographers, and we all love that.